Kanye West threatened to kill employee and investigated Kardashians for sex trafficking, lawsuit alleges

Employee says he was fired after raising allegations of child abuse at West’s Donda Academy

Kanye West hired a man to investigate myriad conspiracy theories, including alleged sex trafficking involving the Kardashian family, before becoming so erratic that he threatened to kill the employee before firing him, according to a new lawsuit.

The lawsuit, which has been seen by The Independent, was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Thursday. The employee was only identified as “John Doe.”

Doe says he was hired by Ye – West, 47, legally changed his name to Ye in 2021 – in December 2022 and given the position of Director of Intelligence as the rapper and music mogul prepared for his ill-fated 2024 presidential run.

Doe claims that in May 2024, Ye fired several senior members of Yeezy leadership. Around the same time, Ye got titanium teeth and was allegedly consuming large quantities of nitrous oxide, which Doe believes may have contributed to his ensuing paranoia and erratic behavior.

The lawsuit alleges that Ye requested Doe hire private investigators to secretly follow his wife, Bianca Censori, while she was visiting family in Australia.

Soon afterward, Doe says he received a call from an employee at Donda Academy, a private school in Southern California that Ye was running at that time. The Academy employee claimed that children were being abused at the school and that nothing was being done, so Doe says he brought the matter to Yeezy leadership.

The lawsuit states: “Almost immediately thereafter on the same day, Ye himself called Doe to yell, curse and threaten Doe with great bodily injury, including death, if Doe repeated what Doe learned from the Donda employee.

“‘You’re f***ing dead to me!” Ye allegedly told Doe. “Ye also played recordings of scary voices that were threatening to harm Doe.”

Kanye West in Berlin in July 2024. A new lawsuit alleges he threatened to kill an employee (Getty Images)

Doe, who says he is a military veteran, claims he continued to receive threats of violence from other Ye associates, which exacerbated his post-traumatic stress disorder.

Doe says he was eventually fired by Ye in retaliation for reporting the child abuse allegations and for raising objections about engaging in unethical or unlawful activities, according to the complaint.

“Ye retaliated against plaintiff through a campaign of threats, intimidation, and harassment,” the lawsuit states. “These retaliatory actions caused plaintiff severe emotional distress and exacerbated his PTSD, resulting in both emotional and financial harm.”

Regarding the Kardashians, the lawsuit states: “John Doe was also tasked by Ye with investigating the Kardashian family and supposed various criminal links Ye believed they had with criminal enterprises, including alleged sex trafficking.”

In a statement to The Independent, the plaintiff’s attorney Ron Zambrano said: “Ye has only himself to blame for his mounting legal woes. He just can’t continue hiring employees, treating them terribly, then refusing to pay them in violation of numerous employment laws, let alone threaten to kill them as he did in this case.”

The Independent has approached representatives for Ye and the Kardashians for comment.

John Doe is seeking in excess of seven figures in punitive and compensatory damages, including unpaid wages.

His complaint against Yeezy LLC and Ye alleges retaliation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and numerous labor code violations.